Voices from the Grave
by Darktiger2
Summary: This story is about basically what if the turtles had past lives? --NOT A HAPPY STORY! deals mostly with Leo. ONE-SHOT


_Okay…this is just going to be a one-shot. Nothing biggie._

_Anyways, I was watching the discovery channel and there was this thing about reincarnation. So, I started thinking, 'What if the turtles were something else in their past lives? What if Raph was a mailman? What if Don was a hippie? Okay…maybe not exactly that, but what if?'_

_So, I came up with this story. Yep. I have an active imagination._

_You'll probably understand what's it's about when the story's over._

_**DISCLAIMER**: **I don't own the turtles.

* * *

**_

"_Give me release  
Witness me  
I am outside  
Give me peace _

_Heaven holds a sense of wonder  
And I wanted to believe—"_

_He didn't know the rest of the song. But it didn't matter. He liked those few lines. _

_A snowflake lazily drifted down, resting on his nose. He giggled as he quickly wiped off the snowflake._

_There were voices now. Voices from behind him. _

_He closed his eyes and began to sing again. _

_But the voices kept on getting louder, and louder, and louder—_

_He raised his head to the sky and kept on singing._

"—_Heaven holds a sense of wonder,_

_And I wanted to believe…--"

* * *

_

Leo's eyes shot open and he sat up quickly.

This wasn't the first time he'd heard that song. He'd been hearing it since about a month ago.

A month ago…

So much happened a month ago…

Splinter decided that they should have a spiritual retreat to discover themselves…Of course, all of them were happy to go, since the constant fighting with the Foot was tiring. Now, Leo regretted it.

Of course, it all started out normal. Meditating and stuff. But then, Mikey started getting weird flashbacks. All of them were suddenly curious to why.

Then, Raph started to get them too. Then Don.

After a lot of searching their inner selves, they realized that it was past memories. Past memories of their lives _before_ the life they're living now.

Turned out that Raph was a famous guitarist. Which Leo sort of understood, because Raph always did like guitars.

It also turned out that Raph didn't have a mother in his other life. She had died from cancer when he was one. And he and his dad had never got along with each other.

Don, on the other hand, had both his parents in his other life. He got along very well with them and he was happy. He was a sort of bookworm and had dreamt of becoming a writer when he grew up. But, in some-sort of train accident, he died before he became eighteen.

Mikey, too, had had both his parents. Plus an older sister who loved him very much. They were a great family. Mikey had grown up to become a professional soccer player, before quitting and taking over the family business.

But most of all, they were _human._

Leo, too, had gotten those weird flashbacks. But they weren't like the others. They were always set in a snow-covered background. And there was always the song…

Leo shook his head before standing up, checking the digital clock on a small nightstand next to his bed. It was six o'clock. Right on the dime. Time to get up.

Leo sighed before walking out of his room and heading down the silent hallway to the kitchen. No one except him was awake this early.

He reached the kitchen rather quickly. He, then, automatically made his way to the cupboard above the sink and took out a small, blue mug. Filling it with hot water, he started to make tea.

"Heaven holds a sense of wonder  
And I wanted to believe—"

Leo froze in the middle of dipping the tea bag into the water. Now he was starting to sing the song!

He'd tried to meditate once, but all he felt was a sudden burst of fear, then darkness. He had never tried again.

He heard shifting in Splinter's room. Leo quickly took out a second mug, this time a dark green, and filled it up with hot water as well. Then, he took out a second tea bag and put it into the water, letting it soak.

Afterwards, he took out the coffee maker and filled it to three cups, before putting in the coffee beans and turning the machine on. His brothers hated tea. They were definitely coffee-drinkers.

Sure enough, the door to Splinter's room slid open and Splinter stepped out, looking a bit disheveled, but otherwise quite fine.

Leo bowed to his aged master, before handing him the cup of freshly made tea. Splinter nodded his head in return and graciously accepted the tea. Then, he sat down next to the table and taking a long sip out of it.

Leo sat down in a chair across from him, cradling the warm mug in his hands. He glanced at the clock. 6:30.

"Should I go wake up the others, Sensei?"

Splinter shook his head. "No. Today is Saturday, my son." He gently reminded him.

Leo nodded, knowing what he meant. On Saturday's, they usually went down to the homeless and handed out food, clothing, and whatever else they might need. Ever since the weather turned cold, they needed those more than ever.

Leo gazed down at his cup. Yesterday, it started to snow. Of course, it was nearly Christmas, so it wasn't so surprising, but—

"Hey Leo! Hey Sensei!"

Leo looked up at Mikey, who was cheerfully standing on top of the stairs. He grinned down at them, before sliding down the rails…or at least, attempting to.

Leo and Splinter both winced as they heard a huge crash as Mikey, ungracefully, landed on his back beside the small table near the tv.

Splinter sighed as he shook his head. "Michaelangelo…what have I told you about that?"

Mikey stood up, rubbing his head, still grinning insanely. "Umm…not to?" He answered quite cheerfully.

Leo shook his head. No matter how many times they told him not to do that, he still kept right on doing it. The poor tea table was now held up with just scotch tape and glue, since Donny was now refusing to fix it anymore.

"Wake up the dead, why don't ya, Mikey?"

Leo glanced up as Raph hopped down the stairs, landing on fours before straightening. He looked quite grumpy and cranky.

"Hey Raphie!"

"_What _did I say about the nickname, _Mike_?"

"Want some coffee, Raph?"

Raph looked at Leo holding a mug of coffee, before dropping his arm, which was close to giving Mikey a well-rounded punch. "Thanks." He grumbled, before grabbing the mug and throwing himself into the chair that Leo had previously occupied.

Mikey pouted at Leo. "Where's mine?"

Leo chuckled a bit at Mikey's expression. He handed Mikey another mug. "Here."

Mikey immediately brightened. "Yay! Thanks!"

"Mornin' Leo, Splinter, Raph, Mikey."

All of them looked up at Don, who just stepped into the kitchen, looking tired, but otherwise happy.

"So, when are we gonna go?" Raph asked, after taking a big gulp of the coffee.

Leo shrugged, before looking at Splinter.

Splinter took a small sip of the tea. "We will go in two hours. I believe that is enough time to prepare everything?"

Leo nodded. "Mikey, you whip up something hot for them, preferably soup. Don, Raph, go get some extra blankets or whatnot."

The others nodded, before quickly finishing off their coffee and then getting to work.

Leo grabbed the dirty mugs and set them beside the sink, where there was an already huge stack of dirty dishes piled up.

He glanced at it, before sighing and beginning to do the dishes.

Splinter finished off his tea, before starting to help his eldest with drying the dishes.

* * *

The homeless and the needy were already waiting for them, by the time they had arrived.

They lived on the small island, which had once been a dumpsite.

No one cared whether they were turtles, rats, or giant monsters. They were thankful for the food and the clothes they received, and they weren't about to chase away those that cared for them.

They were just starting to hand out things, Mikey and Don the food, Raph and Splinter the clothes, when Leo noticed something in the shadows.

It was an old man, hunched over and leaning heavily on a walking stick. He had long gray hair and a long gray beard as well. He was clothed in very ragged clothing and he looked absolutely miserable.

Raph noticed what he was looking at. "The others say that he's new. Just arrived here. Just appeared outta thin air."

Leo nodded, before handing another bowl of food to a hungry person, not yet taking his eyes off the newcomer. All of a sudden, the newcomer raised his gray head and their eyes met. Then, suddenly, for some reason, deep anger rose up in him, and he just wanted to knock the living daylights out of the newcomer. Leo quickly looked away, but the anger did not reside.

* * *

It was night now. Mikey had ended up giving food to the newcomer. Leo was actually supposed to, but he just blatantly refused. This, of course, shocked the others a lot. Leo, the usually good-hearted one, willing to help anyone, refusing to help a newcomer?

But Leo had just pursed his lips and refused. The old man had watched him all along with wide, sad eyes. But Leo never glanced at him.

At home, the others had questioned him, but he refused to answer. He just said, "because."

And that was all.

* * *

"_Heaven holds a sense of wonder"_

_He kept his eyes closed as he sang the song quietly. He was sitting on a cold, hard floor, huddled up in a corner. _

_The voices were arguing again._

_Why wouldn't they ever stop?_

"_And I wanted to believe—"

* * *

_

Leo shot up in bed. Once again, the same old song. Once again, the stupid dream. Only this time, there wasn't any snow.

He glanced at the clock. Six.

Why did he chronically get up at the same time?

Leo sighed as he realized that he didn't know. He just did.

He slowly got up and went to the kitchen.

They were back again. It was Saturday. Two weeks had gone by, and Leo kept right on seeing that old man.

He hated Saturdays now. Oh, how angry he was with that man!

Why?

He had no clue.

But each time, he felt a deep anger towards him. A deep anger…and an even deeper emotion of betrayal.

"Leo? Leo?"

Leo zoomed back to the present, blinking in surprise as he looked at Mikey. "What?"

Mikey shrugged. "Ya just zoned out there, dude."

Raph looked at him, a bit confused. "What the shell's wrong with ya? Every time we go here, ya take one look at that old guy and ya just zone out. What the shell's he ever done to you?"

Leo felt the eyes of his brothers and sensei burn into him.

"More than you can ever imagine…"

Leo winced immediately as that came out. He didn't know where that came from, or why he even said it. He just did.

But he didn't dwell on it long. He handed out the last blanket they brought before disappearing into the truck.

The others just stared after him with surprised look.

* * *

Leo had disappeared into his room right after they had gotten home. He hadn't spoken a word after that small incident.

Raph glanced up at the stairs as he held a cup of coffee. He looked at the others crowded around the dining table. "Anyone get Leo?"

Don was once again fiddling with some small gadget. He only did this when he was either nervous or he needed to think about something. Don shrugged, not yet looking up.

Mikey thought about it a little. "Didn't he start actin' all weird after we got home from our lil' 'self searchin'' thingie?"

Don nodded, not looking up. "He did."

Splinter sighed as he folded up his newspaper that he was reading and placed it onto the table. "Whatever the trouble is, it must be very grave."

Raph looked down at the cold black liquid in his mug. "That old man. Every time Leo looks at him, he gets all weird. Which is funny, 'cause I know we ain't never met him, and if we never met him, than how would Leo know him?"

"Whoa…" Mikey said. "That was real deep, Raph."

"I'm serious Mike."

Don sighed as he finally put down the gadget and looked up. "Well, I don't think we'll get anything out of Leo today. It would be nice to know all the answers, but we can't make Leo tell."

Splinter nodded. "No we cannot. Now, I suggest we turn in. It is very late."

* * *

It was Saturday again. And Leo was not happy.

'_If I have to meet that man again, I'm so gonna scream.'_

Splinter noticed his bothered look as he was washing dishes. Actually, his irritated actions, because Leo had just managed to smash the third dish he was holding.

"What is wrong, Leonardo?"

Leo stared at the smashed plate before looking at Splinter. "Can I _not _go?"

Splinter gazed at him with a very astonished look. "And why ever not?"

Leo shrugged. "I don't feel like it."

"It is not for ourselves we do this, Leonardo…it is for all the poor and homeless—" Splinter began to lecture, when Leo interrupted.

"I know that, Sensei. But I don't want to go. I just don't. I can't explain it, but don't make me go. Please."

Splinter let out a slow breath. "All right. I cannot make you do something that you do not wish to do."

Leo silently thanked anyone who was up there and listening.

"But I do wish if you would tell us why you are acting so strangely, my son."

Leo looked at his aged master. _'I wish I knew too.'_ He thought unhappily.

* * *

They were handing out food when the newcomer hobbled over.

Mikey happily handed him a plate, which the newcomer gladly took. But he didn't go away.

Instead, he looked around. "Where is the other one?" He asked in a weak, rasping voice.

Mikey looked at him blankly for a second, before realizing what he meant. "Oh, Leo? He didn't come today."

"Is he ill?"

Mikey looked uncomfortable. Raph noticed and cut in. "Yeah. He's ill."

But the old man wasn't fooled. "I see. He didn't want to come."

Splinter, by this time, had come over. "I am sorry." He said. "I do not know what has gotten into him.—"

The old man sighed, looking very sad. "It is alright. I do not blame him for not coming." He slowly turned around before he looked back. "You should not apologize, for I should be the one who should be sorry. And am I ever…"

* * *

Leo was still in his room when they arrived home. But when he came out, none of them told him about what the old man said. After all, all of them were still busy trying to figure it out for themselves.

Don had gone to his little section of the living room where he had set up a lab. There he was working on something very intently.

Raph was currently watching the news with Splinter.

Leo was reading a book.

Mikey was fiddling with a new cd he had found while rummaging through the sewers. It was titled 'Silence' and it was by Delirium.

Once he finished cleaning it, he put it into the small cd player next to him and hit play.

Leo wasn't really listening to it, at least, until he recognized the lyrics.

"_Give me release  
witness me  
I am outside  
give me peace _

_Heaven holds a sense of wonder  
and I wanted to believe  
that I'd get caught up  
when the rage in me subsides—"_

"Mikey, would ya turn it down? We're _tryin'_ ta watch the news here!" Raph called out from the couch.

Mikey pouted and was about to turn it down, when Leo spoke up.

"Where did you get that Mike?"

Mikey looked at Leo. "You know this song? 'Cause I just found it…"

"Mikey! Turn that thing down!"

Leo glared at Raph. "Turn yourself down, Raph."

Raph whirled around. "Whatdya say ta me, Leo?"

"I said, for you to 'turn yourself down.' Or in other words, SHUT UP."

Raph jumped up. "_What?_"

Splinter stood. "Stop this immediately. Raphael, calm down. Leonardo, apologize to your brother immediately."

Leo stood up. "No." He said blatantly, before marching out of the room.

Don watched him disappear. "Did he just?"

Mikey nodded, his mouth open.

* * *

"_Mommy? Will you play with me?"_

_A bitter laughter. "Get the fuck away from me."_

"_Da—"_

_Slap!_

"_WHAT DID I TELL YOU?"_

"_Sorry…"_

_The cold snow again. But he didn't mind. It wasn't so cold._

"_Heaven holds a sense of wonder,_

_And I wanted to believe…"

* * *

_

Leo opened his eyes, but this time, he didn't get out of bed. Why should he? He was tired.

And why was the mother so cruel? And the father so evil?

He felt as if he knew the answer, but he couldn't quite grasp it.

* * *

Days passed by slowly, and they could all see that something was seriously wrong with Leo.

He was pale, with big circles under his eyes, indicating that he didn't get enough sleep. He was also much more irritable than usual.

"We should do something…" Don said, watching Leo irritably walk around the lair, trying to find something to do.

Raph nodded. "But what?"

Mikey shrugged. "Dunno. But shouldn't we get ready. It's Saturday again."

Raph nodded, before glancing back at Leo. He was worried. Very worried. But if anyone asked, he wouldn't admit it.

* * *

This time, they made Leo come. He had skipped three Saturdays, but now enough was enough.

So Leo was handing food out stiffly, trying to seem happy, but it was evident that he'd rather jump off a 700 story high building into a small cup of water than be here.

The old man was the last to get into line. When everyone was gone, he stepped up and held out his bowl to Leo.

Leo just stared at it.

"I'm sorry, you know."

Leo didn't look at the old man, even though he had spoken. He just slowly set down the wooden spoon.

The others were now nervously watching, not really knowing what was going on.

Leo suddenly smirked. "You said that once. And I believed it."

The old man looked away. "I know."

"So why should I believe it now?"

The old man didn't look at Leo, but Leo looked up at the man. He looked up real hard at him, before turning and walking away without giving the old man food.

* * *

Leo sat in the truck. Mikey had given the old man food, and was trying to apologize for him. But the old man just waved it off, saying that it was his fault.

Leo still didn't know why he had said that. It just came out. He didn't know that man, and yet he knew him. And he was angry with him.

"My son?"

Leo didn't look up at Splinter.

Splinter sighed as he climbed into the truck. "My son?" He tried again, but Leo didn't answer.

* * *

At home, Leo disappeared into his room again.

The others however, were in the kitchen.

"Alright, this can't go on. Something's wrong with Leo and he won't tell us what." Don said, looking concerned.

Raph nodded, looking at Splinter. "Sensei, isn't there somethin' that we can use to make Leo tell us?"

Splinter sighed. "I hate to do this, but there is one spell…"

Mikey jumped up from where he sat. "Then let's do it!"

Splinter looked indecisive for a bit. "But I believe that this isn't really Leonardo's memories…I believe that they are someone else's."

"Like past life, Sensei?" Don asked.

Splinter nodded.

Raph thought a bit. "But even in the past, it was still Leo."

Splinter nodded again. "True. And this has got to end. Michaelangelo, get your brother."

"Me? Why me?"

"Because you're the one he'll less likely kill, Mike."

"Oh, thanks Raph. That's _real_ helpful."

"Your welcome. Anytime. Now get your butt up there."

* * *

Mikey had gotten Leo, and just like Raph had said, Leo hadn't killed him.

"Yes?" Leo asked in an irritated tone.

Splinter sighed before looking into his son's eyes, before chanting a quick chant.

Leo went froze, before becoming rigid and toppling over. Raph quickly caught him.

"Whadya do ta him?" Mikey exclaimed, kneeling down next to Raph, who had just set Leo down onto the floor.

Splinter looked sorrowful. "It is a spell for him to remember what was." He looked at his remaining three sons. "Now gather close. We are going to go see Leonardo's past."

* * *

_There was snow everywhere. It was quite beautiful really._

_The huge evergreens were covered with snow that weighed their branches down tremendously. Huge icicles rested on the more slender branches, ready to break off at the slightest touch._

_The sky itself was a soft shade of wintry gray. A chilly breeze blew gently through the woods._

_Raph blinked. "Where are we?" He asked, his voice echoing._

_Don scanned the area. "Dunno. Montana maybe? Or at least somewhere cold in December."_

_Raph rolled his eyes. "I know that much, but how did we get here? And where is here?"_

_Splinter answered this time. "We are in a memory. Leonardo's past memory to be exact. Remember, whatever happened has already happened, and therefore we cannot change anything."_

_Mikey looked around before reaching out and trying to break off an icicle. He yelped when his hands went right through it._

_Splinter chuckled. "As I have said, this is a memory. We do not exist here."_

"_Hey look! Leo!" Don exclaimed, pointing to a figure standing a bit farther from them._

_Leo turned to look at them calmly._

"_What's he doin' here?" Raph asked._

_Splinter smiled. "We require a guide. Leonardo is here to watch that we do not get into any mischief and to show us what he wishes. After all, this is his realm."_

"_Oh." Mikey said before waving at Leo. "Hey Leo!"_

_But Leo didn't smile. Instead he pointed at something behind him before disappearing._

_Splinter calmly walked up to where Leo was standing. "He wishes to show us something…" He said, before looking into the direction Leo had pointed to._

_The others crowded around him._

_A bit farther from them sat a little child._

_The child had sandy brown hair and wide blue eyes. He was very thin, almost skin and bones. He was dressed in a very thin T-shirt that was five times his size, and some baggy pants which was torn._

_He sat in the snow, playing with some stones. He looked no more than five._

_A bit farther from him was a small little cottage that looked old and about to collapse. The windows were shut and the door was shut as well._

"_YOU DRINKIN' AGAIN, YOU BASTARD? WHAT'S THIS? YOUR TENTH BOTTLE?"_

"_WATCHYA YELLIN' ABOUT WOMAN? I AIN'T THE ONE DOIN' CRACK!"_

_The little boy looked towards the house before looking back at the small snowman he had built._

"_IT AIN'T CRACK! IT'S MEDICINE!"_

"_SURE IT IS! JUST LIKE THAT TOBACCO YOU CHEW IN THE MORNIN'!"_

_The little boy looked at the closed door again, before standing up. He quickly ran to the door before opening it and running inside._

_Splinter followed and fazed through the door. The others followed his example._

_Inside, a tall, thin man with black hair was sitting in a sofa, a beer bottle in hand. He was dressed in warm clothes, nothing like the little boy's._

_A woman stood in front of him, her hands on her hips. She too, was tall and thin. But she had blond hair. She, too, wore warm clothes._

_The little boy stood in the doorway. "Mommy?" he asked in a soft voice._

_Both people looked to the doorway. Then, the man scoffed. "YOU. You're still alive?"_

_The little boy nodded. "Yes."_

_The woman glared at him. "Don't say 'yes' in an ungrateful tone, you fuckin' lil' bastard!"_

_The little boy looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry, mommy."_

_But the woman wasn't listening. Her attention was back on arguing with her husband._

_Then, the scene changed._

_The man was yelling at the boy, who was now six. Then, the man slapped the boy across the face. Then he slapped him again and again and again. He kept on hitting the child until the child was bawling. _

_So, the man grabbed the child by the hair and shook him, yelling something._

_The scene changed again._

_The child was standing by a small, scratched up table, next to the woman. He was holding a book._

"_Will you read to me, Mommy?"_

_The woman glanced at the child, before spitting out some tobacco onto the floor. "Get outta my sight."_

_The little boy looked at the floor, his shoulders drooping. "Yes mommy."_

_He turned and walked away, when the woman shouted after him. "Don't call me 'mommy'!"_

_The scene shifted again._

_The man and the woman were arguing again. The little child, now seven, was standing in a corner, watching them._

_Then, the man marched out, slamming the door behind him. _

_The woman watched him go, before looking at the child._

"_You bloody piece of shit! Why'd ya have ta be born? We were so bloody happy without ya!" She yelled, before smacking him across the face._

_The scene quickly shifted._

_An ambulance truck was sitting outside, it's red and blue lights flashing quickly._

_Medics were standing all around, questioning the man._

_Then, the door shot open and four medics ran out, carrying a stretcher. The woman lay on it, looking very pale and ill._

_The little boy, now eight, ran out the door after them, screaming "Mommy! Mommy!" in a desperate voice._

_Some medics were moving now, trying to catch the child. But the child evaded them and ran up to his mother, who was just being put into the truck._

_The woman opened her eyes and glanced at the child sobbing histerically by her side. She glared at him, and mouthed, "I hate you" before her eyes closed and she let out a slow breath._

_The medics had by now grabbed the child. They hadn't heard what the woman had said._

_The other medics were now trying to start the woman's heart again. But it was too late. She was dead from a drug overdose._

_The scene altered suddenly, leaving everyone shocked._

_They were in a courtroom. The child was nine._

"_My sentence is three years in jail for child abuse, plus an intensive counseling session for six months." The judge said, dismissing the court._

_The child was led away by a short, chubby social worker._

_The scene altered._

_The child was still nine. His father had improved greatly during the six months. So greatly in fact, that the judge had let him out of jail and was willing to give him his son back._

_They were back in the same house. The two of them, alone._

_Six months passed, and the man looked as if he had really changed. But then, he started to drink again._

_And the child abuse began again._

_The scene shifted forward a little._

_The child was ten now. _

_The abuse had gone on for nine months, and no one had noticed. It was the weekend._

_The man was hitting the child again. But this time, the child was on the floor, curled up in a fetal position. He was bleeding from various cuts and bruises._

_Then, the man suddenly jammed his foot down onto the child's ribs. The child screamed in pain, spitting out blood._

_The man spat at him in disgust, before throwing him into a small little room with no windows or doors. He then locked the door._

_The man then lit a cigarette, before throwing the lighted match on the floor. He stomped out the door and got into his car before driving off._

_Mikey's eyes widened as he saw the match light a piece of paper on the floor. "We've got to do something!" He yelled, as he tried to stomp onto the lighted paper. But his foot just kept fazing through the paper. Mikey was crying now._

_All of them were. _

"_You cannot my son. It's a memory…" Splinter whispered._

_Mikey looked at him. "But he's gonna die!"_

_Splinter bowed his head._

_The scene shifted once again and this time they were in the room that the child had been thrown into._

_He was just coming to, when he felt the warmth under the door. The child crawled over to the door, despite the pain, before peering under the door, through a little crack. His eyes widened as he saw the flames._

_He tried to open the door, but it was locked. _

_The child was crying now._

"_Help…" He whispered, before coughing up some blood. "Please someone! Help…" He called out, weakly knocking on the door._

_But no one answered his calls._

_The child moved farther back as the door caught fire._

_The ceiling was cracking and collapsing outside. _

_Suddenly, a piece of the ceiling fell down. The child tried to move out of the way, but his leg got trapped underneath it._

_The fire was closer now. The child was crying._

_Mikey closed his eyes and looked away. Don looked at Splinter. "Can't we help him? Please!"_

_Splinter bowed his head. "It is a memory." He repeated, tears making their way down his face as he did so._

_Raph just watched, shocked._

_Suddenly, Leo appeared beside the child._

_The child stared up at Leo in surprise, before he smiled._

_Leo looked sadly down at him, before smiling too._

_The scene altered again._

_Darkness.

* * *

_

Raph let out a shuddering breath as he jerked back into his body. He looked around the familiar Lair, before looking down at Leo, who was still out.

Mikey began to cry.

Don patted him gently on the back, gently trying to calm his youngest brother.

Raph looked at Splinter, who was wiping tears away from his own face. "No wonder he ain't want to talk about it. How can anyone be so cruel?"

Splinter heaved a shuddering sigh. "I do not know. I do not know."

* * *

Leo came to in his bed. The lair was silent and dark.

He sat up.

He remembered everything. His brothers, the memories, his brothers seeing his memories…

Leo looked up at the ceiling sadly, before crawling out of his bed and opening the door.

He had to see his father.

* * *

The old man was lying on a makeshift bed in a small broken down home. He was alone.

Suddenly, there was a shifting and the blue bandanna turtle appeared beside him.

The old man wasn't surprised. He had expected him.

"You remember?"

Leo nodded. "Yeah."

The old man heaved a sigh. "I'm sorry, you know."

Leo didn't look at him. "You did that intentionally. You burnt the house with me in it."

The old man sighed again. "Yes." He admitted. "I did. And I am ever so sorry."

Leo said nothing.

"I know you don't believe me. But I was and still am. After I left, I turned back and came back. But it was too late. After that, I moved and gave all my money to charity. I know it won't make what I did all better. But I still did."

Leo looked at him for the first time, his eyes full of pity. "I was angry at you. And still am. You were supposed to love me. Take care of me."

The man nodded. "I was. But I was a lousy…no there is no real word to describe what a horrible father I was. And I always think about it. And god! I am ever so sorry."

Leo smiled a little, his eyes filled with tears. "But despite it all, I never did hate you. In fact, I've already halfway forgiven you."

The old man looked away, tears making their way down his face. "You were always too good of a person."

Leo shrugged. "I should also thank you. If I hadn't died, then I wouldn't have reincarnated into this form. And I've never been happier. Sure, life deals you hardships, but I have three brothers who love me, and a father who loves me too. And I just turned sixteen."

The old man smiled a little. "I am glad for you. And maybe one day, you will completely forgive me. But this is already more than I deserve." He rasped, before taking a deep breath but he never let it out again.

Leo watched the old man for a bit, before walking out the door.

* * *

Back in the Lair, Leo found his brothers waiting for him.

And no one knew how, but they all ended up hugging Leo.

They stayed for a long time like that. Just hugging.

"Heaven holds a sense of wonder,

And I wanted to believe..."

* * *

_Okay people! That's it! (is bawling too much to type anymore)_

_R&R!_


End file.
